


Absence

by Shadow_of_Quill



Series: Replacement [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Frisk-centric, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-15 05:29:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8044234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_of_Quill/pseuds/Shadow_of_Quill
Summary: The state of not existing or of being lacking.





	Absence

No one is there when Frisk wakes from their fall. They sit up, stand up, start looking at this strange cave they've landed in.

They hear someone's footsteps, and look up to see a monster.

"Oh, my poor child! Are you all right?"

 

Toriel turns to dust, and Frisk stares in horror - that blow shouldn't have killed her, they just wanted to weaken her enough that they could show Mercy!

They have no idea they could reset and bring her back. They have no idea they could show Mercy even without it explicitly being an option.

There's no one outside the Ruins' doors to tell them.

 

They die to the sentries.

They reset.

 

They let Toriel kill them, some perverse notion of making amends for their first fight with her. Their last sight is her horror-stricken face.

They reset.

 

They make it out of the Ruins without killing Toriel. They try not to kill anyone, they really do - most of the time, and if sometimes they get revenge for dying so often to some monsters, they reset immediately, so it doesn't count... right?

The path to Snowdin is long, and empty, and littered with rubbish. A table sits next to it. At one point, Frisk finds themself passing a pile of wet cardboard and pasta, and has to wonder why it's there.

 

They walk over a rock outcrop covered in old paint - it looks as if someone tried to make it look like a wooden bridge, once. They wish they knew why, but there's no one to ask.

 

The monsters in Snowdin are polite, willing to interact. Frisk had had no idea how badly they missed conversation till this chance to talk to people again. They end up going around to everyone, just to see what they'll say.

 

The Innkeeper is warm and welcoming. "Here, would you like a lollipop?" Her laugh is a little nervous. "I really don't know why I've got so many, but it would be a shame to waste them!"

 

Grillby's turns out to be a bar. "Hey, if you're here long enough, Sansy might show up. He comes by after work."

"Who's Sansy? Oh, you mean Sans - he's one of the skeletons that live in that big house. I think he's a tenant, or something?" The punk hamster rolls his eyes. "I tell you, if my boss was my landlord, I'd go spare!"

Doggo sighs. "You know, sometimes I wish there was someone around to play fetch with..."

The other Dogi look at him in surprise. "You too?" "(You too?)"

He shrugs, uncomfortable. "Just... feels like there SHOULD be."

 

Frisk sees the 'big house the skeletons live in'.

They can't shake the feeling it looks empty. Maybe it would look better if the lights were on... or if it were decorated...?

 

Frisk moves on.

Waterfall is beautiful, but Frisk soons stops enjoying it when it feels like any second could lead to spears rising from the ground and impaling them.

Undyne is stunning. Terrifying.

She's also lonely, but her loneliness has become her armour, and Frisk can't pierce it.

 

They reset.

They reset.

 

A grey flower sits on the way to Snowdin. Frisk approaches cautiously - this is a monster they've never seen before.

It sneers at them. *Don't worry, I can't do anything to you.* A grey vine rises from the ground and whips at - and through - them. *See?*

It ignores Frisk's reaction, looking at the empty path. *You know what this place needs?* it asks with a disturbing grin. *Puzzles! You could fit some big ones in here, huh?*

Frisk ends up edging past it. It watches them go with blank eyes.

*Maybe I'll see you again.*

 

On their next reset, the flower is gone.

 

It shows up again a few resets later, in Waterfall.

*I guess he'd like you to say hi to the fish.*

Frisk perks up. Who's he?

The flower sneers again. *Doesn't matter. No one. He's no one, I'm no one -* it glares at the ground. *He says to ask the fish for cooking lessons,* it says abruptly, and dives into the ground.

There's no sign it was ever there.

 

Undyne freezes when Frisk asks for cooking lessons, looking utterly baffled. "Whah? That!? COOKING LESSONS??!!!"

It's pretty clear neither of them understand why she says yes.

 

The lesson is fun, even if her house doesn't survive it.

"Damn. That's another night at the Inn for me!" Undyne says cheerfully.

Frisk pats her arm sympathetically. It's a shame she doesn't have anyone she can stay with.

 

At the laboratory, Frisk is greeted by Dr. Alphys. "W-w-well, there's D-D-D-Doctor G-Gaster, too, but you-you won't meet him. P-probably!"

At first, she seems intimidated by him, but Frisk quickly realises that it's more that she's awestruck.

Dr. Gaster must be impressive.

 

Frisk gets cornered by four lab assistants - a lizard who looks similar to Alphys, a gingerbread man with a skeletal pattern iced on him, a large-headed serpent, and a cat-man.

The cat-man is the spokesperson. "Hey, kid. You willing to help us out?"

Frisk nods.

"Great!" They break into nervous smiles. "See, there was an accident, and then someone made a mistake, and we really wanna fix it -"

"hey!"

Everyone jumps.

A small skeleton - around Frisk's own height - is stood looking at the huddle of monsters around Frisk with a raised eyebrow and wide grin. "there something i should tell dr gaster about, here?"

The monsters jump away, step back. "No! Nope, we were just leaving."

The skeleton watches them flee, smile turning puzzled. "wonder what _that_ was about." He turns to Frisk. "heya, i'm sans. sans the skeleton. you wanna come meet dr gaster?" Skull tilting in the direction the assistants fled, "i can keep those guys off your case."

Frisk isn't sure whether they should accept... but if it goes wrong, they can just reset and try again.

 

Dr. Gaster is tall, imposing.

And haunted by something.

"I Hope My Colleagues Didn't Cause You Any Trouble."

Frisk explains what they wanted.

"Help Fixing A Mistake..." He shakes his head. "I Doubt They Had Any Concrete Plan In Mind. And Some Things Are Not Easily Undone." Empty sockets stare at Frisk. "Even By An Anomaly Such As You."

He looks away. "You Are Aware That We Only Need One More Soul To Break The Barrier?" Frisk tenses, nervous, but he continues, "I Feel That - Someone I Owe A Great Debt To - Would Ask That I Help You, If Possible. We May Find A Way That Does Not Involve Your Death."

Frisk wonders who he owes.

Gaster's smile is disturbing.

"He's Gone.

"He's Not Gone."

 

Frisk resets.

The flower is gone.

 

Frisk stares in confusion. They've been through this corridor before plenty of times. That door has never been there.

They reach for the handle.

Vines shoot from the ground, binding the door shut. *The POINT was to be LEFT ALONE, you MORON!*

It's the grey flower's voice. It sounds like it's crying.

*Just go enjoy how much BETTER things are without us!*

Frisk's Determination surges -

\- the vines snatch them up and hurl them out of the corridor.

By the time they get back, the door is gone.

 

They reset.

They reset.

They reset.

 

The door never returns.

 

Frisk lets Gaster experiment with them.

 

The Barrier is broken.

Sans stands alone, looking at the sunset. "kind of makes you wish there was someone here to really cheer about it, huh?"

Frisk can see how many of the monsters share that feeling.

Frisk can see the guilt on the faces of the assistants who tried to corner them.

Frisk resets.

 

"i can keep those guys off your case."

Frisk asks Sans to work with them, instead.

Sans looks puzzled. "uh, okay... what are they even working on?"

The answer makes him look even more bewildered, but Frisk can see the faintest traces of something that might be hope. "a rescue, huh? wonder who we're rescuing?"

Frisk doesn't know. But they're filled with Determination to find out.


End file.
